The Broken Oath
by Erica N Peterson
Summary: Rylee Shader finally finds out who she really is: a half-blood.  But with this discovery comes a chilling prophecy, dreams of a strange mountain at sunset, and a horrifying recognition that she will have to face a creature as ancient as the sky itself.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I could hear my footsteps echo across the empty hallway as I made my way to my last hour of the day, late again. I opened the door, ready to get a scolding from our teacher, Mrs. Gremm.

She gave me a cold stare and slowly shook her head, then pointed a crooked, withered finger at my seat on the third row. A few kids snickered, except my friends Percy, Ric, and Derek. Percy shrugged apologetically.

My face felt hot as I made my way down to my desk. As soon as I was seated Mrs. Gremm continued on in her monotonous drone that put most everyone to sleep. I kept my eyes downcast, pretending to be studying my notebook. I couldn't wait until it all ended. As soon as I was out of this place it would be summer. I would not have to listen to teachers rambling on about whatever it is they do. I'm not the brightest kid there ever was born, see.

"Rylee?" Mrs. Gremm called, as she rapped her knuckles on my desk.

I looked up, wondering when she had walked up. I said, "Uh, what Mrs. Gremm?"

"I asked you if you would read us the first paragraph on Page 420 in your textbook," she said, grinning wickedly.

"Uh, sure," I replied, confused. Since when were we on that page? Nonetheless, I opened up our Greek Mythology book to that page and was about to begin reading. I was dyslexic though, and all the words began swimming all around my head. I apologized to Mrs. Gremm, saying, "Sorry, but I can't read it."

She stared down at me and I thought that for an instant the look in her eyes was pure evil. But it went away as quickly as it came and I realized I must have been mistaken. "We'll talk about your again imperfect behavior after class."

I groaned as she called on someone else to read the paragraph. They read: "The Furies were known as Hades Torturers." After that all I heard was blah, blah, blah. It was unbearable waiting for the bell to ring, so I fixed my gaze on the clock on the wall and counted down the seconds until finally it rang. I rolled my eyes as I picked up my pack and walked to Mrs. Gremm's desk. "Yes?" I asked.

"Wait until everyone else is gone, sweetie. Then we'll talk." She smiled cruelly at me.

I glowered at kids as they passed me until Percy came up. He nudged me and whispered, "We'll wait for you outside." I gave a small nod and turned back towards Mrs. Gremm.

But as I turned Mrs. Gremm wasn't there anymore. She was standing on a desk at the back of the room.

"Whoa!" I shouted, startled. "Mrs. Gremm, how did you…" I never finished that sentence. She started transforming into the face of an evil, withered hag. Her fingers grew into long talons and bat wings sprouted out of her back. I did the sensible thing. I ran. She lunged at me, revealing fangs in her mouth.

Without looking back I ran out of the classroom and into the hallway, where a bunch of kids were standing. I don't know what they saw, but it was certainly not a monster. I burst out the front doors and locked them, though I didn't know what good that would do. I glanced around for my friends and instantly saw them.

Percy shouted for me to stand back as he pulled out a ballpoint pen I'd never seen him use all school year. My first thought was, What good will that do? My doubts were quickly erased though as he pulled off the cap. A long, glowing sword sprouted from the end of it. Percy rushed forward to strike what used to be our social studies teacher, but he was too late. The monster knocked him aside along with Ric and Derek. The sword flew across the school grounds, closer to where I was.

I saw the monster circling around as I was about to run away, but then it spotted me. I changed course and ran towards my only hope. Percy's pen… or sword… or… I don't know. I sprinted faster than I ever had before, but the monster was slightly faster. It charged.

What used to be Mrs. Gremm screeched at me, "We know who you are!" I dove frantically for the glowing sword and snatched it just as the monster stretched out her talons. I closed my eyes and held up the sword.

I didn't know what I expected to happen, but it was certainly not what actually _did_ happen. The sound I heard was like a paper bag being emptied of sand. When I opened my eyes again the monster was gone, except for its talon which I must have accidentally chopped off. Picking it up, I walked shakily towards my friends.

As I handed Percy's sword back, he put a small cap on the end. I thought, That's never going to fit over the sword. But apparently it had a different purpose, for the sword shrunk down until it was a simple ballpoint pen. Percy pocketed it and said to Derek and Ric, "We have to get her to camp." They both nodded vigorously.

They started jogging toward the street, but I stopped and said, "Wait, wait, wait. I need some explanations. What was that… that thing? And, how did your pen turn into a sword? I have so many questions. I won't move an inch until you explain." With that I crossed my arms.

Percy replied, "Rylee, there's no time to explain right now. Just trust me."

He held out his hand to me, but I was stubborn and said, "Answer one question now, and the rest later."

He was pretty impatient, but obliged and said, "Okay. As to your question, 'What was that thing?', that was a… well, what we read in the textbook. It's not good to say names."

"You mean a Fury? They're Hades Torturers, right? Wait… if that's real, then… does that mean that Hades is real? And Zeus, Poseidon, Athena…" I said.

"Shh!" Percy warned, "It's not good to say names. They're powerful. But yes, all of the Greek gods and monsters… they're real. Now come on, I'll explain more in the cab. Derek is calling your mom and explaining where you're going."

I followed him to where Ric and Derek were waiting by a taxicab. After we got in and Percy told the driver directions, he continued in hushed tones, "You know how the gods had mortal kids, half human and half god? Uh, yeah, well… Derek, Ric and I are half-bloods."

I wasn't sure if he was playing a joke on me or not, but his face looked too solemn to be joking. I decided to believe him. I said, "So if you're a half-blood, who's your parent?"

"It's Poseidon," he whispered.

I was about to ask another question when I realized something and asked instead, "Why are you telling me this? Is it because I'm a… no, I can't be… Percy, am _I_ a half-blood?"

He nodded gravely and quickly. I was getting excited. I slightly raised my voice and asked, "Then… who's my dad?"

"We don't know," was his quick reply. I sat back, stunned.

"Percy, so…" I started, but decided against it. Instead, I said, "What did the Fury mean when it said, 'We know who you are'?"

He hesitated, and then said, "The monsters know that you are a half-blood, so that basically means that any enemy to the Olympians does too. Wow, Rylee, you're taking this surprisingly well."

"And… that's a bad thing that they know who I am?"

"Yes," he said firmly. "Monsters will begin to pop up more now, putting your life at risk. All half-bloods are in danger, but especially more if they know that they are a half-blood."

He was about to continue, when the driver cleared his throat, tilting the mirror so he could see us, and said in a strange French accent, "What was that you said?"

I thought that it was an honest enough question, but my friends paled. Derek said, "Nothing, sir. Actually, this will be far enough."

I was confused and said, "What? But we still have a ways to go."

Derek elbowed me and repeated, "This is far enough." I couldn't tell why my friends were acting strange, but then I saw it. The driver's pupils were slits, like cats.


	2. Chapter 2

**I hope to update soon! Please review! Predictions, suggestions, anything!**

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Chapter Two

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I murmured a soft, "Ohhh." Then dropping my voice to barely a whisper, I leaned over to Ric and asked him, "What do we do now?"

"This," he stated simply. He pulled out an old baseball cap, stuck it on is head, and disappeared! A few seconds later there was no one next to me. I guessed that he moved. I strained to try to tell where, and then I spotted it. The empty seat next to the driver sagged a bit, so I guessed that Ric was there. The driver spotted it too. His eyes narrowed and some weird spike thing flew straight at where Ric was. He screamed out as the cap toppled off of him, blowing his cover.

Ric snatched something out of Percy's hand and jabbed our driver. He let out an inhuman noise as he disintegrated into sand and blew out the window. Ric dove for the brakes as the car jerked to a screeching stop.

Derek grabbed my hand and yanked me out the door along with the others. I was about to ask him something when Percy shouted, "This way!" and began sprinting down the road. I had a little trouble following him but after running along twisting alleys and side roads he finally stopped. I didn't see anything special about the place.

He pointed, "There," then again took up the run. We arrived at the base of a hill where you could see the ocean. I knew we were way too far away to feel the spray, but it seemed to me that I could.

"Thalia's tree," Percy said with admiration for a person I didn't know. Hanging from one branch was a golden, shimmering fleece. But that wasn't all. A dragon was coiled around it, with steam coming out of its nostrils. I would have gone berserk, but the other three didn't seem to think that was a monster so I went with it.

We marched past strawberry fields where what looked like goat boys were making them grow, volleyball and basketball courts (where kids just stopped their games and stared at us, making me very uncomfortable), an archery range, a rock wall, and tons of other places where activities were going on. Finally we arrived at a huge barn like building, where a pretty blonde girl was leaning on the porch railing.

Percy grinned when he saw her. "Hey, Annabeth!" he called. He turned back to me as she jogged down to meet us. "This is Annabeth, daughter of Athena. She's really brave and a great friend. You'll like her."

Ric tossed her the baseball cap he had worn earlier as she approached us.

When she did she extended her arm and said, "Welcome to Camp Half-blood. I'm Annabeth. You must be Rylee." She smiled at me, so I reached out my arm and shook her hand. "Come on, I'll take you to Chiron."

She turned and strode up back to the porch and around to the other side. I expected to see a man, but instead it was a centaur! "You… you're a centaur," I said.

"Yes. And you are a half-blood. Rylee, daughter of… we don't actually know yet, but tonight we will. The gods made a promise to reveal their identities to their children at the age of 12. You're older than that, 14, but since you didn't know who you were… your father could not have made himself known unto you." He stopped for a moment, but then said, "Dinner starts in ten minutes. Why don't you all go down to the dining pavilion? I'll be there in a minute."

Percy smiled and said, "All right Chiron. Come on, Rylee." With a wave of his hand he motioned for me to follow him.

We trudged along in silence until we got to this huge open pavilion with tons of tables lines up in rows. There was one at the front, where I guessed Chiron would sit… or stand, seeing he was a centaur.

A few other kids were there already sitting, so Ric took me around and introduced me to all of them. There was a kid named Nico, a son of Hades. Thalia, daughter of Zeus, hunter of Artemis, the one mentioned by Percy earlier, wore a silver circlet around her head. A girl named Clarisse (a daughter of Ares) looked like she wanted to beat someone up. There were a few other kids, but those were the main ones I remembered.

Lots of other kids started to show up around then, each apparently sitting at a certain table. Ric explained to me that each table was for a Greek god, and that the kids had to sit at their parent's table.

"So… what table will I sit at?" I asked.

"Like Chiron told you, you'll find out as soon as everyone is here. You should probably go up to where Chiron is, over at the head table."

"Okay," I said, walking up there.

Chiron greeted me, "Ah, Rylee. I see you have met some campers. As dinner is about to start…" he just stopped. I turned to see what he was staring at. There was a red headed girl who had gone absolutely rigid with green smoke just beginning to swirl out of her mouth. Chiron reacted instantly and shouted in a booming voice, "EVERYONE QUIET!"

The area hushed instantly. Then the girl started to speak:

When a broken oath the fifth time arise

And the vow of power for safety dies

The seven shall go but three leave in their wake

For three must be lost by a fatal mistake.

They will travel west to the water's stopped flow

And ask the Grey-eyed one whither they go

To stop the flame, the fatal start,

Then come back alive with a change of heart.

The girl collapsed. Percy and Annabeth simultaneously ran up to catch her, easing her down onto three-legged stool. People began to whisper in muted voices, obviously discussing what the girl had said.

"Um…" I said, breaking the silence. "What exactly was that?"

It was Chiron who answered, "Rylee, this is our Oracle, Rachel. She just gave a prophecy, maybe concerning you. In it, she referred back to a prophecy given last summer, after the Battle of Olympus. It goes like this:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall,

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

Silence. Dead silence. Then Chiron cleared his throat, "Percy, Annabeth, Rylee, Ric, Derek, Nico, Clarisse, Thalia, and any other Head Counselor, I need you to…" he paused, "Well, meet me at the Big House directly after dinner. We, ah, must discuss this… prophecy."


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope you like this edition to The Broken Oath! I'll try to update each chapter as quickly as possible, within a week or two (or less) of each other.**

**Review! Review! Review! I like to hear what you say; any suggestions or pedictions of what will happen next are eagerly welcomed.**

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Chapter 3

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Dinner went pretty smoothly. Percy showed me how we offer sacrifices in this big bronze brazier in the center of the dining pavilion. I dropped in, slightly reluctantly, a juicy steak and whispered, "To Poseidon."

Afterwards Percy and I trudged up to the Big House and waited for everyone to gather. Chiron was already there, along with Thalia, Annabeth, and Nico.

Chiron said, "Oh, good, you're here. Before the others arrive I, ah, want to speak with you five personally." He led us into a side room with a ping pong table for us to sit around. Chiron took a deep breath before continuing. "Percy, Thalia, Nico, I don't want you three to go with the seven."

"What?" Percy jumped up, shouting. "No, no, no, Chiron, I _have_ to go on this quest. It's like... I mean... you just..." He was at a loss of words. I watched quietly as his face turned a deep shade of purple, mulling over Chiron's words.

Thalia jumped in, "Chiron, I... I have to go. You don't understand. When Rachel gave the prophecy last summer, I knew I would be going. You can't just... you..."

Then Nico: "Why can't we go? I need to be a part of this. Same as Thalia and Percy. Come on, Chiron."

Annabeth took Chiron's side, "No, I think it's a wise choice."

This flared Thalia up, "Oh, so since you're some big powerful daughter of Athena, then you can tell us what's wise and not? Is that it?"

"No! I just think..." Annabeth started.

"SILENCE!" Chiron shouted. "That's enough, all of you. But none of you three will be going on this quest with the seven because... Well, I just didn't want anything to happen to you, any of you. 'Three must be lost by a fatal mistake,' remember that," he finished quietly.

"Um..." a voice said from the doorway. I looked over and saw Jake Mason, Hephaestus Cabin Counselor, standing there next to the rest of the campers Chiron had called here.

"Oh, yes, come in," Chiron welcomed them. "Everyone, sit. Let's discuss this prophecy." The campers gathered around the table and filled in the remaining seats as Percy sat back down, his face still contorted with rage, although more controlled. "Okay, everyone," Chiron began. "When it is time to send them on their quest, the seven will be ready. I have already chosen who the seven campers will be." Everyone started arguing at once. "And there will be no complaining!" Silence. "I, ah, think it would be best if Derek, Ric, and Annabeth went for sure. The former two have remarkable powers that might deem useful, and you need someone, like Annabeth, that's level-headed and smart to figure your way out of sticky situations. The other four will be Rylee, Clarisse, Jake, and Bryce."

I leaned over to Percy and asked, "Who's Bryce?"

"Bryce Kaller, Son of Apollo, Head Counselor. Really good with music spells," he explained. I nodded. He was tall, light, sandy hair, pretty muscular for someone who must be on his lyre all the time, singing.

"So, down to business," Chiron said. "Anyone have an idea of what the prophecy means?"

Jake started off, "Well, as it says, a broken oath will arise for the fifth time... I guess that means..."

Annabeth: "It's Rylee."

I looked at her funny. "What?"

"Well," she explained, "You were born of Poseidon. In doing so, he broke an oath. See, after World War Two the Big Three made a pact never to have children again. Zeus broke it with Thalia, then Poseidon with Percy, Zeus again wth Ric, Hades with Derek, and now, the fifth time, Poseidon with you, Rylee."

"Wait..." I said, "What about Nico? He must have been born before World War Two."

"Actually, I wasn't," Nico said. "See, I was caught in this place with my sister, Bianca, called the Lotus Hotel and Casino. It's designed to make you want to stay there forever, filled with video games, rollercoasters, water slides, bungee, jumping, and anything else that would make you want to stay. You don't age there."

My head was spinning with all the information. "So... if the first line of the prophecy meant that Poseidon broke an oath, what about the second one?"

Chiron said, "Well, that is difficult. It says that some sort of vow, or oath, created for safety, will die. That can only mean... The Big Three will get rid of the pact they have tried to keep for over sixty years. As soon as that happens, the seven will leave."

Jake looked down. "And three of us won't be coming back." No one commented or argued that point.

Chiron cleared his throat after a moment, and said, "Where will the three go? And who will they be?"

Percy's head popped up, "Me."

Thalia: "Me, too, and Nico. Chiron, did you already have this planned?"

He looked at her sadly. "I hoped you wouldn't figure out that you could still go on the quest."

Bryce spoke for the first time that night, "Maybe... after the three join up with the remaining seven, then will they go west? To the water's stopped flow, that must be..."

Percy and Annabeth said simultaneously: "Hoover Dam!" Then Annabeth continued, "That must be it. Oh, I've always wanted to go there! It's going to be so exciting!"

"Annabeth, we've already been there," Percy said. "Remember?" She shook her head. Percy went on, "Oh, that was when you were holding up the sky and I was on that quest with Bianca, Zoe, Thalia, and Grover."

"Anyways," Chiron said, "The Grey-eyed one is Athena, we know that much. She must tell them where they are to go to stop the flame... that must be referring to 'by storm or fire the world must fall.' But to stop it... I cannot even imagine what must be done to accomplish such a task."

"But at least we'll come back alive, right?" I asked, trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah," Jake said bitterly, "Seven of you." I noticed how he said 'you' and not 'us', as if he was expecting he wouldn't be coming back. I instantly felt bad.

"Sorry," I mumbled. No one heard me, though.

"But, Chiron," Annabeth said, "What about 'And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death'? What's that about?"

He looked troubled. "I do not know, my child. I can only hope it doesn't mean..." He shook his head. "Well, all of you, go back to your cabins. The seven who are going on the quest, be prepared to leave at any moment. And Percy..." Apparently he thought better of what he was going to say, for he remained silent. "Go to bed, all of you."

Chiron left the room first, into his own private study. As we filed out single file, I caught a glimpse of him staring deep into a crackling fire, as if wondering which of us would not becoming back.

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	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter Four

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"Come on, I'll show you the cabins," Percy said. In the little time I've been at Camp Half-Blood, I've learned not to question anything, so I followed obediently. He led me through the dining pavilion, out past basketball and volleyball courts, a sword arena (or at least that's what I think it was - lots of weapons were littered around the area, with some skewered dummies scattered here and there), a lake, and what smelled like a strawberry field in the distance before we reached what registered as what must be the "cabins." Really, it was just a wide assortment of between 20 and 40 cabins, each one different.

Percy explained, "See that U, those twelve cabins over there? Those are the original twelve gods and goddesses, boys and girls on different sides. That's all they had before last summer, when I made Zeus and the others claim their children by the age of 13, with some exceptions - as in your case. They promised to recognize their children _and_ the minor gods and goddesses, so we had to build that second wing, although it has many more cabins than the first. Ours is Cabin Three, right over there." He pointed at it. It was low and solid, more like a bunker than a cabin, made of sea rock, its greys, blues, and greens all twirled together. Next to it was a tall, powerful blue one. I guessed it was Zeus's. Ares's cabin looked like it was painted with first, buckets splashed on, and basically anything that wasn't a paintbrush, in bright red. Barbed wire surrounded the top. Hades's cabin was black obsidian, with green flames surrounding it. Pretty cool, but scary.

We entered our cabin, where Percy showed me his bunk (which, I must say, was quite messy) and the bunk across the room that would be mine.

"Bathroom's are over between the sword arena and the cabins. See your schedule for shower times," he said. I nodded.

"Percy," I said, "Did you ever think that it was possible to have a _clean_ cabin?" I wondered out loud.

He laughed. "No. Not unless Tyson's here."

"Tyson?" I asked.

Percy laughed again. "Oh, you'll like Tyson. He may seem a bit frightening at first, but he's a big softie. He's a... well, it's hard not to miss. You'll see."

"See what?"

"Just go to bed. He's coming by from Poseidon's kingdom tomorrow. Rainbow the hippocampus is dropping him off in the morning. He's down there making flaming swords and stuff."

"What?" Now I was just plain confused.

This only got another laugh from Percy. "Just go to bed."

"Okay."

After I got back from the showers, I saw that Percy was already in bed, about to fall asleep.

"Percy!" I shouted, shaking my wet hair. "Do you have a phone or something I can call my mom on?"

He groggily cracked an eye open and threw his pillow at me. "Over there on the far wall, there's a saltwater fountain. It used to be broken, but Dad fixed it last summer. It's hot water, with some gold drachmas in the bottom. Big gold coins. Grab one, throw it into the spray created by the fountain, and say, 'O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, except my offering,' then say who you want to see and where they live. Just try not to get too loud! I need my beauty rest. Can't you tell?" I nodded, laughing silently as he took his pillow back and flopped back down.

I looked to the back wall to locate the fountain. Big stone basin trickling saltwater into a steaming tub? Found it. I knelt down beside it and cupped my hands, forming a dish. I picked up one of what must be a drachma, threw it into the spray, and said, "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, except my offering. Uh... Liz Shader, Manhattan, New York." At first nothing happened. Then: a shimmering face appeared in the clear water. My mom.

Her eyes grew wide, and she said, "Rylee! There you are! Derek said you were safe, that he was taking you to Camp Half-Blood. Poseidon always said you should go there when you turned twelve. But I couldn't let you. Not then. Now, I guess, you're fourteen... You had to sooner or later. How are you? Is everyone being nice? Did you meet Chiron? Oh, and Percy! You have a half-brother. So, how are you liking it there?"

"Mom! Give me time to answer your questions," I laughed. "I'm fine, everyone's nice, yes, I met Chiron, and I think this place is totally cool. Do I get to come her every summer?"

"Yes. If it's too dangerous to come to school, then you'll go year-round. Oh, I hope you stay safe. I couldn't bear to lose you to Camp for the whole year."

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll be fine. Just... it might take a few days to get used to everything around here."

"Yes, it might," she said. "What time is it, anyway? I've been reading, so I don't know."

"Uh..." I said. "I think it's somewhere between eleven o'clock and midnight. I should probably be getting to bed."

"All right. You stay safe. I'll let you go." My mom is the best person in the world. Her image disappeared.

I fell asleep almost intantly. Much to my dismay, my dreams were filled with evil ladies turning into hags over and over again, trying to run me through with their talons that I repeatedly chopped off. Then, after what seemed like the millionth old lady, my dream shifted. I was in a long dark tunnel, running from something.

"Rylee," an ancient voice whispered. "You know who I am. We've met before. I will come to your silly little camp. Nothing will remain."

I tried to reply, shout something at the disembodied voice, but my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and I couldn't speak.

"Millions will die... friends... family... maybe even that cursed brother of yours... all will suffer my wrath..."

A strange noise echoed throughout the chamber, like metal scraping on stone. Something was being dragged toward me. I kept running.

"The sky... and the earth... will meet..." the voice said, growing louder. "I will come down and destroy your camp, first. Then the Roman camp. What fools they are to think they are stronger than _me_. Your family, friends, then all of New York... eventually, the whole world will bow down to me. It is inevitable. Ever since my son... my family will pay for what they've done, separating me from..."

The voice sounded genuinely angry before it switched back to its cool, steely demeanor. "You must be waiting, Rylee Shader." It began to laugh, cruelly, evilly, until my ears rung from the noise.

Then I burst out of the tunnel, at the base of a tall, black mountain, somewhere around sunset. I didn't know what it was. Small, scared voices started to warn me, but only in whispers, "...very angry... Father can hardly... weight too much... strength gone... go back... go back, Rylee Shader... time is running out... go back... but beware him! Go back! Go back!" Their voices became increasingly louder, more vigorous, as I continued up the path to the mountain's peak, swigling with gray clouds, so much until it became painful to my ears. A huge bellow echoed from somewhere above me. I sensed someone struggling against a powerful source, pushing back against it.

The voices echoed in my head, "Time is running out..."

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	5. Chapter 5

**I'll try to keep updating as quickly as possible, but I haven't always been able to find the time...**

**I like relatively short ANs, unless it's from the author about a review I've made, so I'll try to keep this short. For those who do not know what AN stands for (like me), it stands for Author's Note. If you do not know what OC stands for (again, like me), it is: Original Character.**

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Chapter Five

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"Percy!" A deep, cheerful voice woke me up.

"Hey, big guy," Percy said. Then: "Rylee! Wake up! Come meet Tyson!"

I cracked one eye open. A figure was holding Percy in a rib-cracking hug. This had to be Tyson. But he was huge, at least seven feet tall. I stood up sleepily, still only partially awake.

"Rylee!" The voice rumbled. Then I was lifted off the ground in an embrace. "Hello, Rylee!" Okay, Tyson's hands were seriously _huge_.

"Ouch!" I said automatically. "Sorry."

Tyson put me down. That's when I got my first good look of him. His face... cracked, dirty teeth covered in peanut butter - which I thought a was a little strange - , a little bit higher a lumpy noise, all lopsided and awkward, and higher than that his big brown eye.

Eye. His big brown _eye_. The full effect of it all crashed down on me all at once. "Tyson... you're a..."

"Baby cyclops! I am Percy's brother! Percy is a good brother. I asked Daddy for a brother, and I got Percy! And now I have you too, Rylee!" Tyson screamed. Another bone-crushing hug.

"Oh... so if you're Percy's brother... then you're my brother?" I asked warily.

His eyes brightened as he shouted, "Yes! I have a sister! That is you, Rylee! I know you will be a good sister. Percy is a good brother."

I nodded, slowly. "I have a cyclops for a brother."

"I work in Poseidon's kingdom, in the forges! I made 8,000 flaming swords yesterday. Boss was happy, so he let me come here to meet you! Rylee, my sister!" Tyson said.

"Who makes swords that are on fire underwater," I summed it up.

"Yes. I also made the hippocampi on our ceiling. They are pretty. And Percy's watch, which is also a shield. Today I am making Clarisse a better electric spear. Show her how to do it," he added.

"Which I'm not too thrilled about," Percy mumbled. I turned my head to the ceiling and saw four or five horse-type fish, made of bronze, moving in such a way as if they were swimming through the crests of the waves.

"Wow, Tyson. Impressive," I marvelled.

"Okay, Tyson," Percy said, "Why don't you take Rylee down to the sword fighting arena, maybe get someone to fit her up with one of your swords. Regular, not flaming, please."

"Yes! I will take Rylee to the swords," Tyson said. "Come, sister. We will get you a regular sword. Do not worry, no flames." Percy smiled at us as Tyson led me outside to the sword fighting arena. "We are here. I will get someone to help with the swords for you," Tyson said.

He skipped away and got one of the nicer sons of Ares to help, Garrett Kican. "Hey, I'm Garrett," he said, crunching my hand in a hand-shake. After I'd introduced myself he led me over to a huge assortment of weapons, ranging from a dagger as big as my finger to a huge mace the size of Tyson. "As you can see, we have tons of weapons here. I can use them all pretty well, but I like swords and close-hand combat best. So I'm hoping you choose a sword... that would make my life a whole lot easier." Garrett laughed in a big, deep voice, which intimidated me just a little. "But which weapon do you think you might use? You don't want one to be uncomfortable or too heavy in your hands; bad for fighting," Garrett explained.

"Erm..." I said, having no idea what to say. I had never touched a weapon in my life, let alone trained with one. "Percy told me to get a sword."

"But no flames!" Tyson warned. Garrett looked at him a little funny, obviously showing dislike towards Tyson, maybe even a little fear. I decided that Garrett was not the kind of guy you wanted to be friends with. He might be the nicest Ares guy, but he was certainly not very nice at all, really.

"Right," he mumbled. Turning his attention back to me, he said, "Okay, Rylee, do you want a two-handed or one-handed sword? And how long? Do you like offense or defense, short-hand combat, or more distance? With closer combat, someone would usually be going for offense. The advantage in that is that you can get in real close, inflict some real damage. But they can get you easier. For having a long sword you'd be defense, which means they can't get you very easy, but it also means you can't get at them real easy either. If you choose to be offense, I'll get you a two-handed sword, so you won't be able to hole a shield, but with one-handed swords and shields you can't move as easily or as quickly as you might like. So, what will it be?"

My head was swimming. I had absolutely no idea what kind I might like. So I said exactly that. Garrett laughed again. "All right, I'll just try you out on all of them."

We worked on it all day, never quite finding something that felt right. Long one-handed swords with shields felt way too bulky and awkward. We tried the two-handed offense swords. None of them fit, while they felt much better than the one-handed ones. Late into the afternoon we tried to find something, but only achieved in getting hot and sweaty. Garrett took a long look at me before he said, "I'm going to go talk to Chiron, see if he has something for you."

"Okay," I said. Garrett peeled off his armor, revealing huge, dangerous looking biceps that I did not want to get myself near if I ever got on his bad side. Then he ran towards the Big House, never stopping to catch his breath.

Once he was out of sight, I turned to Tyson, "Why did he look at you like that? He doesn't seem like a very nice guy."

Tyson looked down. "No. He is not. It is not my fault for being the biggest or the strongest. I did not mean to. But I don't care."

"Does everyone treat you like that?"

"No, not everyone. Not Percy. Not Annabeth or Grover, anymore. Not you. But at first... only Percy was nice to me. He is a good brother. And you are nice, so it is okay. And a lot of others are nice too. It is okay, Rylee. Do not worry," he said. I still felt bad for him, whatever he said.

"Hey, Tyson, I'm going to hit the showers before dinner," I said.

"Okay. Good-bye," he said. I set down my armor on the countless weapons that had deemed useless in my hands. But before I could leave Chiron galloped up to me with an angry looking Garrett at his side.

"Ah, there you are, Rylee," Chiron said. "You are... a special case. I will have talk to Poseidon tonight and ask him to have his Cyclopes make you a... special sword. One similar to Percy's."

"Yeah," Garrett said. "But when we asked him to do that for an Ares camper none of the swords fit, he waved us away. Said, 'Have a child of Hephaestus do it.' Yeah, that turned out great. Wasn't a bit as good as it could have been."

"Yes, Garrett is, ah, a bit angry with me for turning him down at that request. But, as I said, you, Rylee, are a special case."

"Gee, I feel wonderful," I said. "You can't even find a sword that fits me. I'm just another problem to be addressed."

"No, that is not at all true, Rylee," Chiron said. "Now, both of you, go get ready for dinner. Remember: Capture the Flag is after. Athena vs. Ares. Rylee, you will be on the Athena team, as Percy has made a previous alliance for Poseidon's children. This might be... an interesting game, as you, Garrett and Rylee, have already met. We shall see how the adverse situation turns out. Now go."

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**CONTEST! WINNER GETS PRIZES!**

**I know people are reading my story, for I have almost 300 hits... maybe not so great a feat, but great for me, seeing as it's only been out about a week and a half. I have very few reviews, however, so whoever submits the **th review will get a prize. I won't say what number... that way it's just by luck. I hope this contest will get me more review... For the winner, they will have a few choices of prize: (1) I will send them a PM of a chapter update the day before I lease it to the rest of you, (2) they can ask up to five questions relevant to my story and I will answer, (3) they can suggest a theme for a flashback of Rylee's that will take up a whole chapter, something of her life before (winner chooses: age, location, basic plot - I'll do the rest), or (4) they can name a character (any character from previous Percy Jackson books or a made-up one - with cabin) for me to insert into my story as a semi-main character.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Review! Read Chapter Five's AN (after the chapter) to find out about the contest... it's still up for the running! So review, peoples!**

**When you review, don't just say one or two words. I want more effort than that. If you can read the story, you can write at least a well-structured sentence. And if you are incapable of writing that, you might be incapable of reading a well-structured sentence, so this story is of no use to you. My thanks fo Heta14, who is the only one so far who has done just that.**

**I need character names! Make them up, first and last, with a cabin label for them. None of these will be major characters, but they will be mentioned. So give them to me in your Reviews! Please!**

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Chapter Six

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"Campers! Athena is blue, Ares is red. Remember, no maiming or killing. All magic items are allowed!" Chiron bellowed at the front of the excited group of kids. "READY... GO!"

"Blue, this way!" Annabeth shouted. I started running, following Percy, to the opposite side of the forest, where our flag sat atop Zeus's Fist, which really just looked like a pile of rocks if not looked at from the right direction.

"Percy, what do I do?" I asked, tripping over the sword that had been hastily assigned to me, as none of them actually fit. My fingers were cramped, but I kept running.

He said, "You're coming with me, on offense. We're the team getting the flag. A few stayed back to guard, hidden amongst the trees and bushes and such. Three other groups of two or three have gone, as diversions. They're supposed to make a lot of noise as we creep up silently to steal their flag. Just... fight well. Everyone is counting on us."

"What? I hardly know how to use this!" I screamed, panicking.

"Relax! You'll be fine. Just stay by me and try not to get near the children of Ares too much. They like to break the rules a bit." I gulped. We ran that same direction for a while before doubling back over and going towards the other side of the forest. It was all I could do to keep up with Percy's long, swift strides.

"You guys take this way too seriously," I said.

"Okay," he finally whispered, slowing to a stop. "We've crossed enemy lines. We're going to go quietly, but if we're noticed, make a break for their flag. See it, way over there, just a speck of red? That's it. Has a bloody boar's head on it. Kind of hard to miss." I nodded. "Okay, let's move." We stayed mostly in the shadows of trees, only coming out to make short sprints to the next big tree. Ares's flag kept getting bigger and bigger, closer and closer. "We're almost there!" Percy shouted excitedly.

Then suddenly about six or seven Ares campers burst from the trees and attacked. "Ahhh!" I screamed.

Another voice countered, "Hey, Rylee! Looks like you finally found yourself a sword! Can you even use it?" Garrett Kican. He advanced towards me, holding his sword high above his head. "Come on, everyone, get Rylee!"

"What?" I shouted, panicking.

"Don't worry, we'll try not to follow Chiron's rule," one of the Ares kids sneered.

"But... I don't want to be maimed, or... or killed! I just got here!"

"Yeah, about that... we don't really like the special treatment Chiron is giving you. With you out of the way, he might make a special order for one of us." The group got closer. I motioned for Percy to help, but he was gone. What had he said to do? I couldn't remember. My brain hurt like crazy, like...

I closed my eyes, ready for the worst. A deep rumbling started in my head, then spreading out to my entire body. Then the ground seemed to be shaking, bouncing, rocking, almost like... I opened my eyes as I stumbled because of the earthquake I had created. Wait. _Earthquake?_ That _I_ created? No. No, it couldn't be. Percy said we didn't have those powers. At least he said that he didn't... then that meant... no. How could I have done this? But if it wasn't me, then who? The Ares campers weren't bouncing around and running away from me for no reason.

The rocking slowly slowed to a stop as the buzzing in my head stopped. Dizzily, I stumbled my way back to the river, over to fair territory, just in time to see Percy running across it with the flag.

"Yeah, Percy!" Annabeth shouted from somewhere among the campers that were appearing out from the trees. I was still uncoordinated from the little incident with the Ares campers, but I saw her run up and hug him tightly, before stepping away and blushing bright red. Maybe it was just the dizziness, but I'm pretty sure the flag turned from bloodred with a boar's head to blue-green swirling around a trident.

Percy noticed me just then. "Rylee!" he shouted. "Look what I found while you took out those Ares campers!" But then his eyes grew wide, noticing my pallid face and dizzy swagger. "Rylee? Are you all..." I collapsed. Everyone ran up to me to see what was wrong.

"Clear the way!" a huge voice bellowed. Chiron. "Rylee, what happened?"

Garrett stepped forward, offering his services. "I already told you. She beat us." Wow. He must have really needed a lot of courage to say that - for an Ares camper.

"No," I muttered. "I... I made an earthquake, I guess."

"What?" Percy shouted. "Man! I wish I could do that!"

Chiron took a deep breath. "Rylee, we will... talk of this later. And... something tells me, you have been having dreams." I looked up to him, his stern face, and I knew I would have to tell him about my dreams. The cruel voice, something about the sky... everything. I nodded, almost imperceptible.


End file.
